John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In my four years in this House, and I stand to be corrected, I do not think I have ever interrupted anybody while they were giving a speech. Whether I agree or disagree with others, they have a right to be heard. If I can continue my comments for the next few minutes without interruption, I would greatly appreciate it. Comments were made about Australia, however, and they were reiterated in the Dáil.

I will read into the record what I saw a few weeks ago when I glanced at some Australian headlines from the past six months. In November 2023, ABC News reported that no one can escape the housing crisis in Australia. In December 2023, Bloomberg reported on how the Australian property crisis had deepened with soaring house prices and people being forced into poverty. In July 2023, The Guardian reported that the housing crisis was pushing more and more Australians into deep poverty. Within those articles, we find that 90% of first-time buyers are unable to buy a home in Australia. We might compare that to the 400 first-time buyers who are getting houses each month in this country.

I know this is anecdotal but last week, I was in my home town of Dundalk where I overheard a conversation between three fellas of my age. One was from Dundalk and two had moved to the town. They and their partners had all availed of the help-to-buy scheme to buy their first homes. They were talking to each other about the scheme the Government brought in, saying that while they did not always agree with what the Government does, the scheme had really helped them to get their first home. I could not believe I was overhearing this conversation. I look around my town of Dundalk and see houses being built left, right and centre. I see construction everywhere I look. That did not exist for the first five or six years my party was in Government - that is for sure - because of the financial situation this country was facing. I have one of the busiest clinics in County Louth. A large number of the people who come into my office are getting houses and coming off the social housing list or getting housing transfers. I see that every day of the week in the job I do in my town. People are doing that because we are building houses to beat the band and they are moving into them.

I recall one of my first contributions in this House four years ago. I hate the ideology around housing that says we want to build houses here but we want them on public or private land, or that the cost of housing is not good because we are giving money to developers. I will tell you what; most people my age do not care who a house is built by, whether it is built by the Government or a developer or whether it is on public or private land. They want to be able to work hard and have a good income, buy a home and start a family with whoever their partner is and get going. I sometime bring some of my mates into this Chamber. I would love if they were sitting in the Gallery. They do not have a huge interest in politics but they would laugh at some of the stuff they hear. They would ask what bubble some of the people up here are living in when they talk about housing because that is not what they are seeing in reality. We want to have a good economy where people can have good jobs and buy affordable homes. I saw that a very good affordable home scheme in Blackrock, County Louth, is oversubscribed.

I get that politics comes into this debate and there is a bit of Punch and Judy and one-upmanship on both sides. What I am talking about is what I see every day of the week where I come from. I am talking about the reality. The housing issue has definitely turned a corner. I am telling you now that it has turned a corner. We will see that in the next six or seven months when an election comes. People are starting to see through Opposition parties. There is no magic wand or secret fix. This Government is doing a bloody good job and working very hard, particularly with housing. If any other political party came into power, it would find the same challenges and issues and would pursue the same policies to increase house building because that is the way forward.

I look around and see people of my generation buying homes. I see older people downsizing and freeing up homes. People I know are using the €70,000 and €80,000 vacant home grants to breathe life into vacant or derelict homes and live in them again. This Government has introduced so many housing schemes in the last three or four years. We have made it so much easier for people to buy and build homes, and it is going bloody well. The public are sick of the spin and negativity from Opposition parties telling them they have all the answers. They do not. The slide in the polls over the last six months has shown us that. That slide is going one way, and it is down.